During the two months in England when he was warming the bench, the easy way would have been to blame anyone and everyone for his failure to fit into India's playing XI, but Kuldeep Yadav chose to traverse the tougher route.
India will ponder whether they want to include Washington Sundar, who is quite handy with the bat or Kuldeep Yadav, who is a much better wicket-taking option.
'That's the stuff that a lot of people don't see...the work that you put in, away from the shiny lights and the TV, but it's always nice I guess when you get the rewards from that.'
India head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav closely inspected the pitch of the Dubai International Stadium on the eve of their highly-debated Asia Cup clash against Pakistan.
Without giving too much away, India head coach Rahul Dravid hinted at the possibility of playing wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the Caribbean leg of the T20 World Cup, starting with the Super 8 opener against Afghanistan.
India will look to address several lingering selection puzzles when they take on South Africa in Ranchi on Sunday in the first ODI of the three-match series, where Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return to the set-up for a short audition that could well shape their 2027 World Cup fate.
The likes of Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube and Axar Patel would all like to get some decent hit out there in the middle ahead of Sunday's clash against Pakistan.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav and his deputy Shubman Gill's indifferent form is a massive concern but the national selection committee is unlikely to make any shocking changes when it picks the 15-member squad for next year's T20 World Cup in Mumbai on Saturday.
Simon Harmer picked up four wickets as South Africa staged an incredible fightback to shock India by 30 runs in a low-scoring first Test match.
The Hindi word bauna is commonly used for those suffering from dwarfism, but its also used as a taunt for someone who is simply short in height.
The Indian skipper said that the wicket today was much better from a batting point of view.
Shubman Gill's form in the series is a concern for India as he has now gone six games without a half-century.
As Farhan reached his fifty, lofting Axar Patel for a massive six over mid-wicket, he pulled off a gun-firing celebration with his bat, adding another layer of intrigue to an already electric rivalry.
Kuldeep picked the wickets of Ben Stokes at Ranchi and Zak Crawley in Dharamsala as his favourite dismissals from the series.
What stands out for Kuldeep 2.0 is his aggressive approach.
'Beating India here is never easy, in any format. To do it with this group makes it very special for New Zealand cricket.'
India will look to reprise their home template of big first-innings totals and sustained spin in the short two-Test series against South Africa beginning in Kolkata on Friday.
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has issued fresh guidelines barring journalists from asking political questions at press conferences in an apparent bid to diffuse the volatile situation that has persisted since the India-Pakistan match last Sunday.
Vice-captain Vihaan Malhotra's exhilarating stroke-play was well complemented by Aaron George's composure as India set up an Under-19 Asia Cup summit date with arch-rivals Pakistan after crushing Sri Lanka by eight wickets in a rain-curtailed semi-final, in Dubai, on Friday.
Kuldeep was instrumental to India's success at the Asia Cup, topping the wicket-taking chart with 17 wickets. Chopra explained the rationale behind dropping the left-arm wrist spinner, attributing it to batting depth.
Suryakumar Yadav slammed a century while Kuldeep Yadav claimed five wickets as India crushed South Africa by 106 runs to level the three-match T20I series 1-1.
For the first time in many years, India are going into a home Test match as underdogs and not favourites. Ask any player worth his salt and he would tell that it is not a happy place to be.
'Rishabh Pant is not fit for West Indies series, hopefully he will be available for home Tests against South Africa.'
Kohli finished the series with 302 runs at an astonishing average of 151 and a strike rate of 117-plus, including two centuries and a fifty.
'Kuldeep tossed the final delivery of his sixth over just a fraction higher. The ball drifted across Babar, drawing him out of his crease, unsure whether to cover the googly, then dipped wickedly, bit off the pitch and ripped viciously through the gap between bat and pad before kissing the top of the off-stump bail.'
Team India skipper Suryakumar Yadav has found himself in the spotlight for a brief moment of forgetfulness at the toss during their Asia Cup fixture against Oman in Dubai on Friday.
Opener Shubman Gill fell one run short of a deserved half-century as India knocked off their target in 19.1 overs, completing a 2-1 series victory after going down in the opening ODI of the series in Lucknow.
India remained on course for a 2-0 series sweep after enforcing the follow-on but West Indies produced a much better batting display in their second innings to reach 173-2 on day three of the second and final Test in New Delhi on Sunday.
Delhi Capitals snatched defeat from the jaws of victory as Mumbai Indians pulled off a stunning 12-run comeback win in a thrilling IPL 2025 match.
Tournament co-hosts India will be out to defend their Twenty20 World Cup title. The 10th edition of the 20-overs global showpiece event will run from February 7 to March 8.
India's strategy of playing two fast bowlers, one pace bowling all-rounder, and three spinners could possibly come in handy on this surface.
A seemingly unstoppable force in the shortest format, the current India squad has an aura of invincibility around it unlike the one that ended the cricketing powerhouse's long wait for an ICC title in Barbados 19 months ago.
Simon Harmer led South Africa's lion-hearted bowling effort as the Proteas registered a thrilling 30-run victory against India inside three days of the low-scoring opening Test.
Shubman Gill struck his 10th Test century, while Ravindra Jadeja picked up three wickets as India dominated Day 2 of the second Test against West Indies, in Delhi, on Saturday.
Indian spinner Ravi Bishnoi and left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh moved up to the sixth and 10th spot respectively in the latest ICC T20 rankings released on Wednesday.
'We were lacking in assessing the conditions and the situation'
Virat Kohli is yet to arrive in Bengaluru and it is not clear when he will undergo the mandatory fitness test ahead of the new season.
Tournament co-hosts India will be out to defend their Twenty20 World Cup title in familiar home conditions next month.
This brings us to the question of combination and perhaps Arshdeep could miss out on more games going into the T20 World Cup -- a tournament that will be held in the sub-continent -- India and Sri Lanka.
India will be keen to get the job done against Bangladesh and seal their place in Sunday's final before considering resting their players.
